John Merrick: Prominent Business Leader from Durham

In an effort to celebrate Black History Month, Progress NC Action is highlighting prominent Black leaders from North Carolina, who have shaped our state through their contributions to arts, sciences, politics, etc.

In the early 1900’s, Black-owned businesses in Durham, North Carolina can be traced back to the efforts of two African-American entrepreneurs:Charles Spaulding and John Merrick.

John Merrick, a prominent businessman and community leader, co-founded one of America’s largest and most successful Black businesses, the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company in Durham.

The NC Mutual Life Insurance Company location on Parrish Street in Durham, became a cornerstone of a group of Black-owned businesses. Parrish St. was soon nicknamed “Black Wall Street“, one of several Black business districts of its kind across the country.

From the Scalawag Magazine:

The founding of NC Mutual in 1898 filled a huge gap. In the late 1800s, insurance was unattainable for most African Americans; nearly all insurance companies catered to whites. To the extent that such services existed, they were provided through Black social clubs and fraternities, like the Royal Knights of King David, which pooled its members’ resources to cover expenses like burials. In partnership with seven other co-founders, including Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore and his nephew C.C. Spaulding (who eventually served as NC Mutual’s president), Merrick used NC Mutual to transform insurance opportunities for Black people, and also offered policyholders a stake in the company.

“The success of this mutual enterprise was a tremendous source of pride for African-Americans in Durham and across the country in those early days of freedom,” the company notes on its website.

Merrick, who was born into slavery, was a pioneer of philanthropy for Black communities across Durham — channeling portions of his wealth back into the community to help fund libraries, hospitals, businesses and to provide employment opportunities in order to improve the quality of life for Black residents. 

From Blackpast.org:

By 1918, North Carolina Mutual had over $1 million in insurance in force and was at that point the largest black-owned insurance firm in the nation.  Later they founded the Bull City Drug Company, a local black newspaper, and a short-lived Durham Textile Mill. Merrick also helped establish Mechanics and Farmers Bank and the Lincoln Hospital in Durham.  Through their efforts Durham, North Carolina became the 20th Century city with the greatest concentration of black-owned business firms in the United States.

Merrick also worked to shift racist attitudes toward African Americans as well as to protect the community from stifling economic hardship and inequality.

John Merrick is remembered for his contributions to improve life for Black residents, helping lay the groundwork for a Black Wall Street in Durham and for helping those within his community find success in a time of immense racial violence, segregation and denial of opportunities.